Elton John and the Band Queen Help Ukraine Fight AIDS

Once again, the singer Elton John, known for his anti-AIDS activities, came to Kyiv - this time together with the band Queen - to celebrate the end of Euro 2012 and raise HIV and AIDS awareness through a concert-fundraiser. Elton John also used the opportunity to urge Ukrainians to be more tolerant of gay people: another issue that doesn’t get enough attention in Ukraine. The concert, free for the public, seems to have been a success - but what about AIDS?

Elton John in Kyiv

In Ukraine, a country of about 45.8 million, about 1% of the adult population is infected with HIV. This is the biggest AIDSs epidemics in the European region, according to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO). The issue only started getting attention over the past decade and awareness and action about the issue are moving very slowly. CBS News reports that advocacy groups accuse the government of embezzling millions of dollars in corrupt drug contracts, leaving thousands of HIV positive patients without necessary treatment. The death rate rose to 20% since last year as a result of non-treatment. The head of the WHO office in Ukraine insists that the Health Ministry purchases AIDS drug at a higher than market price from middlemen companies and pockets money in kickbacks, according to CBS News.

Besides the government’s efforts, there are also private charities trying to deal with the issue. In the early 00s, Sir Elton John expanded his Anti-Aids activities to Ukraine, and a few years later they’ve joined forces with Elena Pinchuk’s ANTIAIDS Foundation. It seems to be raising awareness and causing a change in people’s behavior.

According to the press-release, with the support of world-famous stars (they seem to be making a larger impact in promoting safe sex and condom use than boring teachers and impersonal posters in pharmacies) and partner organizations, the growth rate of new HIV cases has been reduced fivefold in the last five years.

Olga Rudneva, the executive director of the ANTIAIDS foundation, explained that concerts like Elton John’s and Queen’s change the attitude towards the AIDS epidemic overall. “After concerts twice as much people want to get tested,” Rudneva said. According to Ukrainian law, HIV testing is free of charge but clinics, especially in smaller towns, can’t deal with the demand during spikes.

“We are basically the only organization that is free to use the money the way we want,” Rudneva said. In addition to raising awareness they also provide medication and diagnostics to people who come to them.

“At the beginning it was mostly our funding,” ANTIAIDS founder Elena Pinchuk said. “But gradually I realized how important it is to get other people involved and not only to fight AIDS myself”

ANTIAIDS is a pretty unique case among charity organizations in Ukraine: it uses media power (Elena Pinchuk is the head of StarLightMedia group that includes four mainstream channels where she places anti-AIDS videos) and has financial resources to directly help people with AIDS.

But it’s not enough. WHO estimates that there are 450,000 Ukrainians who are HIV positive, and 70,000 require urgent treatment while only 28,000 receive it. Considering the scale of the problem in Ukraine in order for things to change, something needs to be done on an official level. The government seems too busy with political fights and redistributing power to make a difference. All the attention Ukraine is getting due to Euro 2012 will be gone -- the circus leaves the town but the country’s ongoing problems remain, including AIDS. Ukraine has to deal with reality - hopefully Sir Elton John didn’t waste his time.